


I Wanna Slow Dance with You

by Nerd_Peridot



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Awkward Crush, F/F, Romantic Tension, Rupphire wedding Take Two, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 15:05:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15709665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerd_Peridot/pseuds/Nerd_Peridot
Summary: Out of all the dance steps Peridot has learned from Amethyst tonight, this one should have been the easiest. But, for Peri, slow dancing will be the most nerve-racking challenge yet.





	I Wanna Slow Dance with You

Peridot had to admit it: Garnet’s second wedding reception was shaping up to be even better than the first one. Of course, not being interrupted by an attack from the Diamond Authority was already a HUGE plus, but there were other improvements, too.

For one, the music was better in her opinion. The human called Sour Cream had a prior engagement that night and was unable to deejay the party again, leaving the gems to provide the music themselves with an iPod and a speaker. Peridot was fascinated to find that many of the songs in Steven’s music library had their very own dance assigned to it. Some particularly helpful tunes even described the steps _right in the lyrics of the song_!

Peridot was determined to use this easy opportunity to learn as many of Earth’s dances as she could, and Amethyst was all too happy to help her learn the steps. They nailed the Cha-Cha Slide and giggled their way through the Cupid Shuffle. The chicken dance was a little baffling, though. Peridot made a mental note to ask Amethyst later to shapeshift into a chicken again. Maybe she was remembering the animal wrong.

Then, it happened. Amethyst and Peridot were smiling at each other after a successful performance of the Macarena when the music slowed and the sweet lilt of violins filled the air. Despite her short time on Earth, Peridot knew what kind of dance this was: a slow dance.

_‘At last, my love has come along…’_

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Amethyst was still smiling but it was a little weaker, more unsure now. Oh, it was awkward. Peridot scanned the expression on her face, trying to decide what to do next. She understood what was expected of this situation. You take the pretty girl’s hand, hold her close, and move slowly in time with the music. But that was a lot different than the side-by-side, touchless dances they had been doing all night. Would Amethyst even want to? Would _she_ even want to?

Amethyst was the one to break the silence. “Well, I mean, you wanted to learn every dance, sooo…?” She placed one hand cordially behind her back and extended the other, her tone brightening invitingly. “Shall we?”

Peridot looked at Amethyst’s hand. Despite all of her nerves making her feel like she should run very, very far way, she heard herself saying, “Okay.”

In a way, slow dancing should have been the simplest dance of them all—just hold your partner and sway back and forth. But, for Peridot, it was the most complicated, most intense dance yet. She became hyper-aware of every single step involved:

  1. Place her hand in mine.  

  2. Place my other hand on her waist. Try not to panic.  

  3. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot.  

  4. Look into her eyes. Notice the way the locks of her hair fall across her face and how the glow of the sunset hits her. No, avoid eye contact. Avoid eye contact altogether.  

  5. Listen when she says I should look at her and not down at my feet.  

  6. Stop looking at her lips. Just look at the temple or something.  

  7. Let go of her hand because mine has become sweaty. Move it to her waist and hope she didn’t notice.  

  8. Feel her move closer as her other hand comes to rest on my shoulder. Feel her breath against my face.  

  9. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot.  

  10. For frack’s sake, you looked at her lips again. STOP IT.  

  11. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot.



 

The song wasn’t even half over when Amethyst abruptly pulled away. “So, anyway, that’s how you slow dance.” She turned her head away from Peridot to face the ocean.

As near-panicked as Peridot had been during the dance, she immediately felt a sense of absence on her skin as soon as Amethyst had stopped touching her. A pang of disappointment hit. “Oh, but… the song’s not over.”

“Yeah, well, you get the general idea. ‘S no reason to keep going.” She wouldn’t even look at her. Suddenly it dawned on Peridot that Amethyst was upset. The now-familiar signs were all there. Before she could say anything, though, Amethyst continued, “I gotta grab something from the temple. Excuse me.” She brushed by her in a beeline for the newly renovated beach house, hair falling in a swoop that blocked her face from view, leaving Peridot to stare worriedly after her before breaking into a run to follow.

When Peridot caught up to her, she was nearly at the door to her room. “Amethyst, wait!” Amethyst stopped but didn’t turn around. “Did I do something wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then what’s the matter?” Amethyst said nothing, her shoulders tense. “Come on, you and I are always honest with each other. That’s what’s so great about us. Well, among other numerous things.”

Amethyst let out a sigh and turned around. Her gaze met Peridot for a second, then fell to the floor. Peridot was surprised to see her eyes looking slightly teary. “I’m just… embarrassed, that’s all.”

“Embarrassed?” Peridot echoed confusedly.

“It was a stupid idea to ask you to dance like that.”

“What? No, you were doing fine. A perfect execution of the classic slow dance,” Peridot declared.

“That’s not—” Amethyst closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It was stupid to ask you because I could tell you hated it. And I should have known it was going to be awkward, and you’d hate it, but I did it anyway, and I’m really just mad at myself, okay?”

Peridot paused, then softly said, “I didn’t hate it.”

“I saw your face, Peridot. You looked really freaking uncomfortable. And stiff. The same way you look half the time I hug you.” She moved across the room to lean against the wall, raising her head to stare at the ceiling. “So I don’t know what I was thinking, asking you to do a dance that’s pretty much nothing BUT hugging. It was stupid.”

Peridot was quiet, mind racing, thinking of what to say next. She crossed the room to lean with her against the wall, her shoulder grazing Amethyst’s. “I don’t hate your hugs, either.”

Amethyst scoffed. “Yeah, sure.”

“Well, fine, let me be accurate. I don’t hate your hugs. But, sometimes, I hate the effect they have on me.” That caught Amethyst’s attention, and she turned her head to face Peridot. But Peridot kept facing forward, continuing calmly, matter-of-factly. If she was really going to do this, really be open about everything, she couldn’t give herself the chance to chicken out and change her mind. Amethyst had the entirely wrong idea about this situation, and the record had to be set straight.

“Gems on Homeworld don’t touch each other much, let alone hug, so I’m not used to it the way the rest of you are,” Peridot continued. “But with you, it’s even worse because I just feel so… nervous. And flustered. Then I worry that you can tell how nervous and flustered I am, which apparently you can, so that’s just fan-freaking-tastic. So, yes, to be honest I wasn’t technically getting much enjoyment out of our dance because I was worried you’d notice the goosebumps on my arms and my sweaty hands and the way I was staring—” She stopped and turned to face Amethyst. “Anyway, the point is, I guess you’re right to a certain extent. I don’t always like it when we hug. But the thing I hate about it is how much I like it. How much—” She faltered for a second, then pressed on. “How much I like you.”

Any apprehension Peridot might have had about revealing her feelings to Amethyst vanished when she saw her face. There was no doubt she had made the right decision. Amethyst’s eyes shone, a smile warming her face until it was practically radiating with affection. “For real?”

“For real. Like I said…” She playfully nudged her shoulder against hers and grinned. “Being honest with each other is one of the best things about us.”

Amethyst grinned back. Then, almost shyly, she reached for Peridot’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “So, does this make you nervous?”

Peridot’s smile fell, but she looked into Amethyst’s eyes with the utmost sincerity. “Terrified.”

For a long moment, they stared at each other, hand in hand. Peridot was hit with a dizzying feeling of being on the edge of something momentous, something important. But, the spell was broken by the sound of a screen door flying open.

“Amethyst! Peridot!” Steven called. “Come on, Garnet’s throwing the bouquet! We need more people out there!”

From their position behind the wall, Steven wouldn’t have been able to see them, but Peridot instinctively let Amethyst’s hand go anyway. Their eyes flicked from general direction of the door back to each other, and Amethyst let out a nervous chuckle.

“Ok, we’re coming!” Peridot called in reply. Swiftly and with purpose, she grabbed Amethyst’s hand again and led her to the door. After all, once the bouquet toss was over, there’d be many, many more opportunities for practicing slow dancing and holding her favorite gem in her arms again.

**Author's Note:**

> Written based on a Tumblr prompt: "We were dancing but all of a sudden it’s a slow song and we’re standing here awkwardly staring at each other." Thanks for reading! :)


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